The IPCA report into the suicide of Stephen McIntyre has been released to Stephen’s family and it is a disgusting whitewash of Police bullying in NZ.
I feel ashamed that I ever suggested the McIntyre family put themselves through the stress of having to lodge a complaint and that they would see anything resembling justice for the bullying by the Police that was a contributing factor into Stephen’s suicide.
For those not aware of the Stephen McIntyre case, let me give you some back ground…
I met Stephen years ago and had re-connected with him recently as he worked to set up Green Cross. In his later years, Stephen had moved from campaigning for the decriminalization of marijuana to focussing on medical cannabis. Green Cross was the realization of that activism. It provided medical quality marijuana to patients with a doctor’s prescription. NZ law allows for doctors to prescribe synthetic marijuana and the 2010 Law Commission review called for that to be widened to organic marijuana as well.
That’s where Green Cross came in. They had a list of patients with doctor’s prescriptions whose illnesses ranged from those with chronic pain to cancer. Synthetic product did not work for many of these people.
I would joke to Stephen that he wasn’t so much ‘Doctors Without Borders’ as ‘Stoners Without Borders’.
Green Cross opened an office with a members lounge room and dispensary, similar to the California model. The office served as an information center on medical marijuana. The organisation was tireless in its dealings with the Ministry of Health in trying to shift the policy debate to allow those with written prescriptions to legally purchase organic marijuana from a registered center like Green Cross without fear of prosecution.
At the beginning of June last year, the Dactory was raided. The Dactory was a wild west shed out in New Lynn that was an open shop for marijuana smokers and dealers. It was the very type of operation Stephen shunned because of it’s lack of self regulation or competence. During this raid, some of those arrested were allegedly yelling, ‘why are you arresting us, what about Green Cross’?
Days after that raid, on June 8th 2012, Police officers went to Green Cross demanding to be let in. They became very agitated and aggressive when refused entry and they were told to come back with a warrant if they wanted access to the building. They threatened to smash down the door, but calmed down very quickly when it was pointed out that the Green Cross security cameras were watching. Police then claimed to have an arrest warrant for one of the club members for breaching a protection order. The member met them outside and went cooperatively.
On the 20th of June 2012 two uniformed, friendly Police officers turned up at Green Cross and met Stephen. He said that both officers made very sympathetic noises about what Green Cross were trying to do on the medical marijuana front. Stephen was definitely left with the impression that they thought Green Cross were operating on the edge of the law, but because there is no profit based criminal activity going on, that they would be left alone.
On the 22nd of June 2012, Police arrived at the Green Cross office while Stephen was there and pulled the old ‘we smell cannabis’ trick and started a search. They found 350 grams of medical quality marijuana and $1470 worth of cash. Stephen was arrested.
I met with him shortly after his arrest and he spoke with passion about how he would defend these charges. I remember the defiant look in his eyes as he spoke about the patients he worked with. He declared that this was going to be the moment that the medical marijuana debate was sparked, so to speak. The decriminalization debate, which had stagnated and gone no where of late, could open a new front.
I wished him all the best in this endeavor and pledged that I would do what I could to publicize the debate when it came to court. I wanted to help because I also found the idea of making sick people seeking pain relief from marijuana (and those who help them get that marijuana) into criminals a complete injustice.
Sadly, we’ll never have that court date.
On Monday 16th July 2012 at approximately 8.15pm the Police turned up at the McIntyre’s house. Stephen was teaching guitar lessons to 4 students while his wife and two teenage sons were at home. The Police claim they were conducting a bail check. However, Stephen had no bail conditions imposed upon him after the arrest other than agreeing to remain living at the address given at the time of arrest. There was no curfew.
What happened next is crucial to the question of whether or not the NZ Police used tactics that killed my friend.
The Police intimidated Stephen outside the front of his house and claimed they could smell cannabis while demanding to know what he would plead and threatening him with further charges if he turned the issue into a campaign.
It is now apparent that having the Police turn up at his home at night and demand to know what he was going to plead while threatening further charges had a terrible impact on Stephen.
On Sunday 22nd of July 2012, Stephen, terrified beyond his wits by the Police threats, took his own life.
This is the transcript of events on July 16th 2012 as written by Stephen in his own words given in an affidavit to his lawyer the day after the police visited…
Monday July 16; approx. 8:15pm
Two officers (one man, one woman) from Waitakare knocked at my door while I was in the middle of class. They could see I was teaching when I answered the door. They identified themselves as police and asked to speak with me outside.
I stepped outside and was told by both officers that they could smell cannabis. This was impossible. I said I didn’t understand exactly what was being implied and pointed out that I was in the middle of work and that there was no illegal behavior taking place.
They checked my name and address details and that I was complying with bond conditions.
The man asked me if I had a lawyer and what his name was. He asked if I had an idea of what I was going to do on Thursday when I next make a court appearance. He said I had 1 charge currently against me but that more could follow if the arresting officer decided to ‘dig further’. He said I could make it all turn out much easier depending on what I decide to do. He made mention of how other people have made noise and turned cases like this into a campaign.
I said I understand and explained that I would be talking to my lawyer in a couple of days about Thursday‘s court appearance.
He asked if I was a cannabis campaigner. I explained I had been an activist for cannabis law reform for 13 years.
Once again, he made reference to smelling cannabis. Once again I pointed out that I was in the middle of work.
The NZ Police responded to the allegations in a NZ Herald article on the issue last year and immediately started lying…
I have been contacted by Stephen’s lawyer this morning and he points out that their answers to what they were doing at Stephen’s home on the 16th July 2012 don’t stack up and I would argue that they are demonstrably false.
Relieving Western Area Commander Detective Inspector Karyn Malthus said officers went to McIntyre’s home to check he was living there, as his bail conditions stated.
Stephen’s lawyer says to this…
“I also agree that there was no point or need for a Police visit as Stephen was not on a curfew condition of bail and was perfectly entitled to be away from his home at any time of the day or night. I have never known Police to make night time bail checks on clients where no curfew condition is in place.”
…so this claim that they were just checking his bail conditions were a nonsense because Stephen had no curfew set. His only condition is that he lived at his address. The Police are pretending that such checking would be standard, they are doing that because they need to justify why they were at Stephen’s house at 8.15pm on a Friday night.
Malthus said police could smell cannabis smoke within the address when the door was answered and chose to speak to him outside the address to “avoid causing him embarrassment”.
Police chose not to pursue any charges over the cannabis smell, she said.
Really? Let’s get this straight. On the 22nd of June 2012, according to their own fact sheet from the arrest, the two officers could smell cannabis and conducted a search of the Green Cross premises based on that smell. Does anyone honestly believe that the Police after using that tactic at his workplace wouldn’t then use it again at his home? There are 7 eyewitnesses, the 4 guitar students, Stephen’s widow and his two teenage sons who can attest to the fact there was no marijuana being smoked.
Ask yourself, if the Police really did smell cannabis, wouldn’t they invoke a search? They had him up on 350 grams plus $1400 odd dollars using that exact same tactic of ‘I smell cannabis’ at Green Cross on the 22nd June but they didn’t on 16th July?
It’s Tui ad-esk isn’t it?
I suggest that the Police couldn’t smell any cannabis at all because if they could, they would have searched and arrested him again.
“Police inquired as to who Mr McIntyre’s lawyer was so that any communication that might be required should go to the correct counsel. This is a normal police activity.”
This attempt to explain what they were doing at Stephen’s home is the most demonstrably false part of their explanation because the Police knew who Stephen’s lawyer was.
This from Stephen’s lawyer…
“That is absolute nonsense. Police well aware that I was acting for Stephen as my office had been involved in the case from the very day of Stephen’s initial arrest. I had already represented Stephen at his first Court appearance and we had also had several subsequent communications with the Police officers dealing with the case, regarding receiving disclosure material and the such like.”
So the Police are lying when they say they turned up at Stephen’s house to find out who his lawyer was because his lawyer had been there from the 22nd of June 2012, the day he was arrested. He appeared in Court for Stephen and spoke to the Police several times regarding the case.
So we have to believe that they were checking up on a bail condition that didn’t have any conditions, that they smelled marijuana and didn’t search his house, and that they just wanted to know who his lawyer was when his lawyer had already represented him and had communicated directly to them several times already?
I put to people that the answers by the Police are false and that they are trying to create a cover up to what their Police officers were really doing which was to bully and intimidate Stephen into pleading guilty and that this bullying ultimately had a terrible conclusion.
Which ALL leads up to the IPCA report into the role of the Police into Stephen’s suicide.
It is a disgusting whitewash…
…so while there was no reason to check on Stephen at his home, while the Police have obviously lied about the explanation that they needed to check who his lawyer was and while they admit the Police tried the ‘we smell cannabis’ lie even though 7 separate eye witnesses claim none was being smoked, IPCA toothlessly shrug off the intimidation and bullying.
No bullying or late night intimidation to see here that led to a suicide. Move along.
This is gutless and pathetic.
Throughout this complaint I have seen the NZ Police act in a most despicable manner. When they were informed a complaint had been made, the NZ Police demanded to interview the family for their own arse covering ‘investigation’ and actually threatened Stephen’s widow that if they did not acquiesce to being interviewed by the Police, then there would be no IPCA investigation (which of course was a bare faced lie and I told the Police at the time that this was a lie). The Police also interviewed the neighbors and seeded with the neighbors that Stephen was a cannabis smoker and whether the neighbors knew this. These tactics were used to threaten the family into being interviewed by the Police and for the Police to construct a narrative backed up by what they themselves had seeded with the neighbors that they were at Stephen’s house late on a Friday night ‘smelling cannabis’.
My view of the NZ Police was never positive to begin with. In an authority worship culture like NZ where middle class society have always historically turned to the cops to beat up Maori, we have a colonial hang up that always gives cops the benefit of the doubt because middle class NZ shamefully appreciated the injustice they were asking the Police to perpetrate on Maori angered by their land confiscations and colonialism. This hang up can be seen reflected in every bullshit reality cop show on TV that unquestioningly sides with any abuse of power the Police enact. Watching these bullies squirm, lie and manipulate their way out of any responsibility for Stephen McIntyre’s suicide after they turned up late night on his doorstep and threatened him is just one more reason to demand a truly independent watch dog over Police abuse of power.
Stephen McIntyre was a good, kind man who dedicated his life to providing AIDs sufferers, Cancer patients and those living with chronic pain with medicinal cannabis resources. He did not deserve to be threatened, bullied and intimidated at night in his own home by the bloody cops.
My deepest apologies to Stephen’s family for the pain they have suffered at the hands of the NZ Police.
It is not you Bomber that should be apologising, but understandable in the situation. Condolences to Stephens family and friends.
Bullying people who they perceive to be physically and or psychologically vulnerable is just one of the unpleasant surprises in the bluebellies bag of nasty tricks. Others are unlawful detention, use of taser and pepper as compliance or torture devices rather than a replacement for lethal force, lying, conspiracy amongst cops to prevent the truth coming out, obfuscation, execution by AOS, taking an employers side in an industrial dispute or picket, harassing lawful protestors rather than protecting their democratic rights etc.
Police culture remains violent, anti woman, racist and with a default reactionary setting for dealing with any group with an agenda for social change. There are literally hundreds of recent cases of coppers well over the ‘line’. Some so far over that they appeared before the courts for assault, sexual harassment and bent behaviour with seized drugs and cash.
And before anyone says–but they do unpleasant jobs and find lost trampers….. Well trained tow truck drivers and paramedics can clean up after car crashes and pig hunters find the awol trampers for example.
Only those who have led a very sheltered life would see much positive from the NZ Police.
Tape/digitally record all conversations with police as they always lie.
The only trickle down effect manifests itself in the form of corruption.
When the executive is corrupt, would you expect any less of it’s enforcer.
Another good person dead as a casual result of our Police force, who are only there for our ‘safety’!
What a shame that Nationals typical tory bullshit is, personal responsibility, yet it is never seen.
My sympathies go out to Stephen’s family.
Should read causal
It seems unbelievable that the IPCA would refer to “bail conditions” when no such conditions (except to live at a certain address) existed.
That the IPCA ignored this indicates they did not want to address it. If they had, the police “case” would have collapsed.
In short, this was intimidation, and it backfired badly on the Police.
The IPCA and it’s BS report makes them complicit in the cover-up.
Sadly Frank, I feel that the only ones suffering from a backfire are Stephen’s family and friends. The Police have simply covered up their dirty tracks once again – in an “independent” and “official” enquiry.
I’m saddened by this but not surprised..
BTW, if anyone is looking for MM look up “rick simpson oil” on you tube.
I’ll show you how to make your own healing oil from quality buds. Watch before you judge!
Currently my father is dying of cancer and this is my next step if the first round of chemo doesn’t kill him first..
His decision, not mine.
What a shame the cops don’t actually learn what is happening around the world before they bully people for something that is completely legalised and fast becoming normalised in many countries around the world. Australia even has cannabis tourism look up Nimbin town. What a shame NZ has become so backwards becoming full of clip board and uniformed power tripping stupid twits telling us all what to do. I happened to watch a great movie this weekend on the idiot box about power tripping uniformed thugs called The Experiment, says it all really. I hope the cops that bullied Stephen feel like arse holes and the whole police force wake up, grow up and let people smoke cannabis for recreational reasons and medical of course. If I have to listen to another long hand wringing debates about the booze problems, and the ridiculously stupid synthetic cannabis disaster just legalise the real thing it is a no brainier. Grow hemp and create jobs, do cannabis tourism and pull this countries head out of its retentive arse and have some fun. I am very sorry for Stephen, it is very sad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdOKUb0jQko
Barry cooper former narcotics officer, the first 10 min of this vid
sums up the govt position on marijuana.
The response from the IPCA is not surprising. Our friend is still waiting for Mr Carrurthers to return his phone call, as promised by Mr Carruthers, from November 2012. He has also still failed to deal with a letter that the police wrote to his staff that has since been proven to be false and other police staff have confirmed that the letter writer gave false information. Mr Carruthers will also not explain why the original complaint is still not being investigated.
The police are stabbing their own good officers in the back by not holding those who behave wrongly to account.
Yes, I have had my own experiences with the NZ Police some time way back. It was mostly unpleasant. Yes, they do lie, bend the rules, do not follow rules and do at times bully people, for sure. That may not be all officers, and it does not happen to everyone, but if you belong to a type of people of whom they have a dim view, or some (founded or unfounded) suspicions, they will treat you with contempt.
If they stuff up, they will do all to cover up. And when police officers end up before the courts themselves, they mostly get off with a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket.
Look at the recent case of a corrupt cop in Christchurch, who actually harassed at least two women, who he stopped for driving offences, but offered to let them off, if they would perform sexual acts on him. All he got was “home detention”, or community work, I believe.
Then there was another one who supplied cigarettes, drugs, mobile phones and so forth to arrested persons in police or court cells. He also got off with a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket. There was talk that he had always been such a great cop, a sincere and good man, who did things only to “calm down” the guys in custody.
The list can go on, and I have heard of IPCA complaints that were mostly white washes. It happens all the time, as most cases that the IPCA deals with go straight back to the police to do the investigation. Even though the officers investigating are from separate units, they will not be keen on doing harm to their colleagues, unless there is undeniable proof of wrongdoing. But proving that is often difficult.
The public do instead mostly and usually get presented the good stories about the cops, saving lives, stopping crimes, stopping drunk drivers, making donations for Christmas activities, to make themselves look good to the people out there.
If a cop breaks the law, they get off lightly, if a poor South Aucklander, certain migrants or other disadvantaged or marginalised get suspected of an offence, they usually get dealt to harshly.
Justice in NZ is a total farce, and I have seen it first hand.
But the many ignorant, mostly lulled to degrees of mental stupor out there, they will never learn it, and they will not be interested. As long as they are not affected, they will believe the cops rather than anyone else. Fear and suspicion and manipulated collective herd thinking and behaviour rule, so the cops are seen as the “good guys” by most, whether they really are or not, what is clothed in blue uniforms, that does not matter.
The media reinforces this, as it is these days almost a crime to question the establishment. The days of investigative journalism are over, and only very few cases get seriously questioned.
This story reveals another scandal, I feel, and people should take note and ask more questions!
Re all these “Commissioner” offices we have, I have had rather appalling experiences, especially with the Health and Disability Commissioner Office. The IPCA is the same, possibly even worse. The only Commissioner I ever had some moderately positive experiences with is the Privacy Commissioner.
All these offices were created to deal to complaints by singling out serious ones from less serious ones (that is in their eyes). They are not always well resourced, have not always the qualified staff they need, and their role is to serve as a buffer and bump off complaints. The idea was to stop people going to courts, to take the government and their agencies to court, on various issues.
They are doing well in that regard, but do little to address real issues that affect citizens day in and out. They fail and do often not really want to hold the ones accountable, that should be held accountable.
The HDC had over 1600 complaints last year, only 60 were “formally investigated”, and of those 42 led to accepted breaches being detected. Of the whole lot only 16 were referred to the Director of Proceedings, who will again have selected only few to be taken to Tribunal or other disciplinary hearings. That is the HDC, and it is a disgrace what goes on in their area.
Every time I hear mention of the IPCA being involved or commissioned in any case, I must chuckle, or I think, here we go again. The BS is endless, but as most out there do not know what really goes on, they suck it up, and think, ah, something is being done. Later come the white wash reports, when the initial complaint issue will have been forgotten by most. Hence nobody really learns what happens, and how we are hood-winked like silly little sheep on the meadows.
It is time to establish a truly accountable, independent IPCA, and keep the police out of investigations on their own!
So where is the Minister responsible? Too busy on Twitter?
But remember this ?
Our cops are society’s peace keepers . Our cops are charged with upholding the laws of the Status Quo . No matter how vile .
We ARE society . And the status quo is of our making . Whether it’s by negligence or design .
If we want the cops to behave differently , we must tailor society to be different .
If the cops behaviour was in anyway different to the demands of the current status quo they’d be acting outside our Governments jurisdiction but they’re not . They are acting exactly as one might expect of arrogant jonky and his stupid cunt followers . And thank God for that because at least we know they still have some sense of responsibility and commitment to their bosses in Government no matter how cunning , devious , greedy and just plain bent they are .
We just have to change the current government and make sure they and their kind never come back in .
Perhaps we should save our most biting criticism for the cops if they carry on with their fascist , right wing , storm trooper behaviour against harmless , innocent people after we kick cunty key and his dirty dozen out next year .
In 8 hours and 13 minutes , it’ll be this year . Doesn’t that have a nice ring to it ? Soon I’ll be able to say ‘ This year ; key , english , bennett , collins , parata , tolly et al . Gone . ‘
I wonder how many cops are saying” Good fuckin’ riddance too , the bastards . I’m over being hated by my community . “
I have always said that the police in any country will behave as badly as society lets them. We must stop letting them get away with this rubbish.
I knew Steve and his family from our days at Uni. of Auckland ..Steve “Man from Mars” B/Music helped me start DLANZ songs.. Steve belonged to Active Student Radio all the way back to ‘Flying Nun’ days. Sad as Steve was a great family man, who stood by beliefs of Peace and Harmony…His band was Mars GIVE THEM HELL BOMBER
This sort of bullying should be reported to Amnesty International Stephen was a good mate of the able bodied’s I met here and greatly thought of.
Regards
Doug at DLANZ
Sickening . Evil stuff.
How does one inform the Public, when the biggest barrier/ obstacle to Truth, (ironically) is the Media.
the NZ corporate owned -non independent- mouthpiece for the State.
This is the biggest problem, see. No such thing as investigative journalism any longer.
that, along with peoples short and /multi- distracted attention spans..
REALLY WE’RE SUNK.( Those who care)
NZ is F***D
My heart goes out to Steve’s family.( At least he, though is free)
There was another STEVE. Different case, but also wrotten .
Remember Steven Wallace years ago? I still feel for his family. Murdered by Police & let off. Disgusting. Even my 9 yr old at the time daughter could see the truth. Corrupt Judiciary.
NEW ZEALAND IS RIDDLED WITH CORRUPTION!!!
Rape culture = Abuse of power
Cannabis Laws = Abuse of power
NZ Police force = Abuse of power
IPCA = Legitimacy for Abuser’s of power
The Nz police force may have pretended to clean up after their big sexual abuse and group raping revelations …….
But instead they have learnt the PR arts of spin and bullshit
The long standing commitment of the New Zealand police force in criminalizing Cannabis users has delivered us a rotten dishonest police force ………………… who are much more ineffective at solving the real crimes like assaults and robberies.
By the way, the police use drug convictions with their 90% plus conviction rates to dress up and manipulate the general statistics regarding the police and crime.
As for protecting people ………….. The police stop sweet fuck all of domestic violence, or street violence, or rape or any other violent crime.
They turn up after the event in 99 out of 100 cases.
Finally, if you have a criminal conviction ( like a cannabis one ), the police will not investigate crimes against you, or if they do it will be halfheartedly.
And that is the present state of the Nz police forxce .
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